The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

#288 - Push

Lu Jing realized that everyone in the building had suddenly focused their attention on him, and he couldn't help but feel a little helpless.

He hadn't even finished his punishment for trespassing in Otherworld Abode, and now he was caught up in another incident. Moreover, this time it was completely undeserved; he was purely helping Yu Qiuren and got dragged into it.

But seeing everyone's gaze on him, Lu Jing had no choice but to speak up, "I wonder how Supervisor Guo plans to punish me?"

Guo Shouhuai fell into deep thought upon hearing this. The method for dealing with other new students was simple: just increase their menial tasks to divert their time, thereby slowing down their secret power cultivation progress, which would naturally make them feel uncomfortable and serve as a warning.

But Lu Jing was different. Lu Jing usually looked like he had nothing to do all day, wandering around somewhere. Even if he was given more menial tasks, it would just be like finding something for him to do.

However, it wouldn't have much impact on his secret power cultivation.

This guy had confidently claimed before that he and Xuan Ji were racking their brains to figure out the method of secret power cultivation, but now it seemed that it was purely nonsense to muddle through.

Dealing with this kind of dead pig who wasn't afraid of boiling water made even the resourceful Guo Shouhuai feel a little棘手.

Fortunately, he didn't struggle for too long and quickly said, "I'll punish you to attend lectures."

"? ? ?"

Lu Jing suspected that there was something wrong with his ears and had to ask again, "Punish me with what?"

"From now on, you must attend all classes related to secret power," Guo Shouhuai said calmly. He had also figured it out. To deal with Lu Jing, such a weirdo, he had to do the opposite.

Increasing menial tasks, which was most useful to other students, had little effect on him, but conversely, making him attend lectures might have a miraculous effect.

As expected, Lu Jing's face changed when he heard this.

This was too ruthless! Guo Shouhuai was afraid that one Secret Power Unraveling wouldn't kill him, so he wanted him to attend all classes related to secret power.

He was afraid that the thing he was most worried about would happen in less than a week.

When Xuan Ji saw Lu Jing's expression change, she could only sigh in her heart. Since she didn't want her own affairs to implicate Yu Qiuren, she naturally wouldn't want to implicate Lu Jing either.

Although she didn't understand why Lu Jing, a student of the academy, was so resistant to attending lectures, she still said, "I will do as you say. Supervisor Guo, please don't punish others anymore."

Guo Shouhuai clapped his hands, "That's naturally the best. This is the trouble you two caused, and ultimately it will be resolved by you two." After a pause, he said to Yu Qiuren again, "Before you leave, do you two have anything to say in private? We can take a break for a while."

Xuan Ji opened her mouth to say something, but unexpectedly, Yu Qiuren spoke first, shaking his head and saying, "It's nothing. I just hope you can live well. It's not easy to come to the human world. Although I can't leave this library and see the world with my own eyes, it's just like what's written on the plaque downstairs: there is a world in books.

"I hope the collection of books here can become your eyes and show you all aspects of this world."

Xuan Ji's eyes flickered upon hearing this. Thousands of words surged to her lips, but in the end, she only said one sentence, "Please take care."

Yu Qiuren nodded, and finally accepted her salute. Then, without packing his luggage, he only took the silver notes he had saved over the years, and then dusted off his clothes and left with a carefree attitude, riding on the starlight that filled the sky.

After Yu Qiuren's figure disappeared into the night and could no longer be seen, Guo Shouhuai spoke again, "Do you hate me a little?"

Xuan Ji shook her head, "How dare I? Supervisor Guo is right, this is the trouble we two caused, so we should naturally bear it."

"I know what you're thinking," Guo Shouhuai turned the chopsticks in his hand and pointed to Lu Jing beside him, "You want to stay in the library for three years, and when this kid leaves the academy, you will die to repay Yu Qiuren's great kindness to you, right?"

Xuan Ji's thoughts were exposed by Guo Shouhuai, but she just bit her lip and said nothing.

Guo Shouhuai continued, "I admit that I value your ability and think that you are more suitable to be the secretary of this library, but if it were just for this matter, I wouldn't have to force Yu Qiuren to leave.

"I can completely let him stay to assist you, or let him continue to hold the title of secretary. It's not impossible. So, I actually deliberately drove him away using this matter."

"You!" Xuan Ji glared at Guo Shouhuai.

The latter remained unchanged, "Don't be anxious yet. Do you know how Superintendent Su evaluated Yu Qiuren back then?"

Xuan Ji shook her head, "Please Supervisor Guo, explain."

Guo Shouhuai didn't play coy upon hearing this, "Superintendent Su said that Yu Qiuren was intelligent and eager to learn, gentle on the outside but firm on the inside, and his actions were quite like those of an ancient gentleman. He had great talent, so I had always had high expectations for him.

"But unexpectedly, he later became immersed in the sea of books, and no longer cared about other things. It happened that the previous secretary decided to return to his hometown to recuperate and spend his old age due to old age and frailty, so he recommended him to take over. From that day on, he completely became a fool who only knew how to read."

Xuan Ji had a different opinion after hearing Guo Shouhuai say this, and retorted, "Supervisor Guo, have you ever thought that the reason why you have such a big prejudice against scholars is just because you can't see the beautiful and mysterious world in their eyes."

"You are a person in the book, so naturally you say that," Guo Shouhuai disagreed, "I don't deny that the world in the book is beautiful, but you can't completely abandon this not-so-beautiful world you are in just because that world is more beautiful.

"The world outside the library may be terrible, full of war, bloodshed, and death, as well as all kinds of conspiracies and calculations, but it is something you cannot escape.

"Especially for talented people like Yu Qiuren, it's too wasteful for the world and himself to only live in such a small library, living a self-sufficient and contented life every day.

"I don't completely oppose escapism, but the premise of this matter is that he has to open his eyes and see the outside world first, and then make a decision, whether to retreat or advance."

Xuan Ji was silent for a long time after hearing this, "Supervisor Guo, you have said so much, but in the end, you still want to use him like you used me."

"You're right," Guo Shouhuai admitted generously, "I need him, just like I need you, so I pushed him from behind and let him leave this library. No matter how nice I say it, the ultimate goal is to hope that I can use him after releasing his talent."

"Because of the secret realm? Has something happened in the outside world?"

Guo Shouhuai was surprised, "It seems that you are smarter than I thought. Unfortunately, I can't tell you what happened outside, or what is happening, but it is indeed the responsibility of me, the vice director of the Department of Celestial Observation, to solve it."